Liberty in Mourning

Tuesday, October 08, 2002

Fast Track to An Opus Dei "Saint": Canonized By Fraudulent Means?

I am, as a Catholic, simultaneously appalled and astonished at the fact that a controversial figure like Jose Maria Escriva, founder of Opus Dei, has been canonized so quickly, without the Church either verifying the authenticity of the miracles attributed to him (Opus Dei’s ‘fast track’ to sainthood), nor considering the objections of former members who've suffered spiritual abuse at his hands. Opus Dei Awareness Network details the objections, such as its cultlike practices, perversions of faith, and secrecy, which even conned His Holiness himself. The Pope, as heroic as he may be, does not seem to see through the ruse of OD; he just sees them as "conservative Catholics." Conservative, my pig's eye! They're not conservative! They're fundamentalists, and scary, demonic fundamentalists at that!!!

I smell a diabolical rat behind this controversial canonization; something just doesn't sit right, and that something is the presence of Opus Dei members directly pulling the strings of the Pope in order for the Pontiff not so much to do God's bidding, but really that of Opus Dei. I do not blame His Holiness in the least for his having been deceived by the machinations of some wolves in sheep's clothing.

How can a man be counted as a saint when in fact he demanded to be worshipped as if he were God? The life of Msgr. Escriva on Earth totally contradicted the humility Christ taught Christians in general and Catholics in particular. Yet given Msgr. Escriva's (he's no saint in my book) obsession with authoritarianism, misogyny, secrecy, deception, manipulation, and total control over its members, Opus Dei ought to change its name to Opus Diaboli (Work of the Devil).